Dennis Palumbo Book Reviews

“Palumbo’s exciting second mystery featuring Pittsburgh psychologist Daniel Rinaldi…takes the reader into the seamy side of the Steel City, chock-full of corruption and crime, love and loss.” –Publisher’s Weekly

“In this fine novel…Rinaldi’s methods are as much Columbo as shrink: he notices details that don’t fit and picks at them until the whole psychodrama comes clear. A smart, strong read.” –Booklist

“Running at a fever pitch, Palumbo’s second novel featuring Pittsburgh psychologist Dan Rinaldi opens with the trauma expert called to the scene of a bank robbery and hostage situation. Multiple twists attest to the fact that Palumbo, a therapist himself, got his chops in Hollywood.” –Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

“The brisk pace and intelligent writing about the adventurous and heroic psychologist will leave the reader wanting more.” –Portland Book Review

“With violence in his own background, Dr. Rinaldi has a keen insight into what victims are feeling. One clue leads to another as the mystery snowballs into more than anyone bargained for…” –Champaign News-Gazette

“Palumbo’s screenwriting background and expertise in psychology show in the book’s crisp prose, fast-moving plot, and insights into human nature.” –Westways Magazine

“Intricate plotting and mind-boggling twists make Dennis Palumbo’s Fever Dream a memorable mystery. The character of psychologist and trauma expert Daniel Rinaldi gives great heart to this story and elevates it to novelistic heights.”
–John Lescroart, New York Times best-selling author of Damage

“Lovers of noir will enjoy Dan Rinaldi’s fast-paced adventures. Rinaldi, an empathic therapist, is on call to the Pittsburgh police. He needs every ounce of his Golden Glove skills to survive the violent world of Pennsylvania politics.”
–Sara Paretsky, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, author, V.I. Warshawski novels

“Fever Dream is another well-wrought puzzle for the likable Dr. Dan Rinaldi to unravel. Fans will be delighted.”
–Thomas Perry, Edgar award-winning author of The Butcher’s Boy

“Dr. Daniel Rinaldi is back in a new non-stop thriller that finds the humane, quick-witted Pittsburgh psychologist (and former pugilist) searching for a link between a failed bank robbery, several brutal murders, a homicidal soldier of fortune, a small town ex-sheriff and a gubernatorial election. A fast, gripping read that offers that rare combination of dimensional characters and propulsive action.”
–Dick Lochte, award-winning mystery critic and author of Sleeping Dog

“Palumbo again delivers more great characters, a page-turning mystery and sizzling suspense. If you liked Mirror Image, you’ll love Fever Dream.”
–Bobby Moresco, Oscar-winning writer/producer of Crash and Million Dollar Baby

“Dennis Palumbo establishes himself as a master story-teller with his first crime novel, “Mirror Image.” Using his background as a licensed psychotherapist to good advantage, Palumbo infuses his fast-moving, suspenseful story with fascinating texture, interesting characters, and the twists, turns and surprises of a mind-bending mystery. Very impressive.”
–Stephen J. Cannell (writer/creator of “The Rockford Files,” New York Times best-selling mystery author)

“Mirror Image is a rich, complex thriller, built around a sizzling love affair. A compelling read, with surprising twists and characters that leap off the page.”
–Bobby Moresco (Oscar-winning writer/producer of “Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby“)

“Mirror Image is a deviously plotted thriller with lots of shocks and surprises you won’t see coming, and a smart, sympathetic hero-narrator who takes you along as he peels back layers of lies and wrong guesses to get closer to the truth.”
–Thomas Perry (Edgar-winning, New York Times best-selling crime novelist)

“Dennis Palumbo’s experience as a psychotherapist hasn’t just helped him make his hero, therapist Dr. Daniel Rinaldi, authentic, human and a man in full, it’s endowed him with the insight to craft a debut thriller filled with action, deduction and romance, expertly paced for maximum suspense.”
–Dick Lochte (award-winning author and critic)

“Dennis Palumbo’s novel is stark and disturbing but there’s a humanity running through the core of it that makes this book special. Maybe it’s Palumbo’s dual training–as a writer and as a psychotherapist–that allows him to plumb the depths and bring up not only darkness but those occasional diamonds of light that sparkle and illuminate and make a book worth reading.”
–T. Jefferson Parker (Edgar-winning, New York Times best-selling author of The Renegades and Iron River)

“Mirror Image is a standout mind-bender! A wonderfully constructed novel that has you seeing double–and all through the eyes of an intriguingly fresh character: a psychologist. Dennis Palumbo knows his craft. This guy can write.”
–Ridley Pearson (New York Times best-selling crime author)

“A gripping thriller, chock full of the desired twists and cliffhangers, with the added layer and intriguing access of a therapist narrator/detective. A page turner!”
–Aimee Bender (New York Times best-selling author of An Invisible Sign of My Own)

“Dennis Palumbo provides a sense of community in the isolation of writing, of knowing that we are not alone on this uncharted and privileged journey. He shows us that our shared struggles, fears and triumphs are the very soul of the art and craft of writing.”
–Bruce Joel Rubin (screenwriter, Ghost, Deep Impact)

“Dennis Palumbo has great insight into a writer’s psyche…every writer should have a shrink or this book. The book is cheaper.”
–Garry Shandling (actor, comic and writer)

All of Dennis Palumbo’s books are currently available at your local bookstore, or through Amazon.

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Dennis Palumbo, M.A., MFT, is formerly a Hollywood screenwriter (My Favorite Year; Welcome Back, Kotter; etc.) and is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles. Palumbo specializes in helping new and established screenwriters, directors, and novelists address creative issues, as well as those involving mid-life and career transition.

Palumbo Podcasts

Here's an interview I did with Doug Lyle and Jan Burke for their "Crime and Science Radio" podcast. In this rousing back-and-forth discussion, we address everything from writers block, procrastination and other creative issues to depression and anxiety.

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Here's a podcast interview, episode 99, I did with John August and Craig Mazin about writing. Their terrific podcast is titled "Scriptnotes."

Happy to share this terrific review of my latest Rinaldi thriller, PHANTOM LIMB. Written by Alice Berger, who reads a ton of books, this is freshly printed on Bergers Book Reviews.

Hollywood On The Couch!

Check out Dennis' column, Hollywood On The Couch, on the Psychology Today website. It's the inside scoop on Tinseltown, USA. Index to all columns:"Hollywood On The Couch" reveals the psychological issues, both personal and professional, which affect creative types in the entertainment industry.

Invitation from Dennis

I invite you to check out my new "Daniel Rinaldi Mysteries" site. Here's the link:
Daniel Rinaldi Blog